Wednesday, April 15, 2009

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Heads Up Mr. President, Much Can be Learned from The North Korean Decision If You Have Your Eyes Open.

In an extraordinary twist of events (not really), North Korea has said that they are abandoning six-party talks and restarting it's nuclear program. ""We will never again take part in such talks and will not be bound by any agreement reached at the talks."(MarketWatch)

This at a time when the Obama administration seems to be waiting for everyone to forget about the fact that North Korea test fired a missile and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is nowhere to be found. What exactly is our policy here? Is it the powerful double barreled plan of the United Nations Security Council Resolution and the invoking of the phrase "problems created by the last 8 years?"

I am no foreign policy expert (and it seems no one in the current administration is either), but as the series of articles below indicates it is obvious, at least to me, that we had a problem here before the missile launch and that we have a greater one now. Perhaps President Obama should use one of his almost daily television shows to mention something to the country about foreign policy and stop pandering to his base (the show yesterday seemed particularly anti-business). In the speech yesterday I don't think he could have found a more friendly crowd if he had handpicked them himself (which he may have). One was reminded of the Nancy Pelosi yo-yo of clapping at every word out of his mouth.

The administration will hopefully look at the examples of North Korea and not abandon our missile defense plans to get Iran to the table for negotiations, the results of which it would have no intention of abiding by. It is time for the reality of the situation to set in to those in power, and not just to everyone else that has the capacity of simple analysis. Some recent articles on the topic have included:

On top of the North Korea situation, we also have a serious problem fomenting in Pakistan. No word on that one either from the White House that I have heard, but here it is:

DERA GHAZI KHAN, Pakistan — Taliban insurgents are teaming up with local militant groups to make inroads in Punjab, the province that is home to more than half of Pakistanis, reinvigorating an alliance that Pakistani and American authorities say poses a serious risk to the stability of the country.(New York Times)

Is there anyone in the Obama Administration that is in some way responsible for the brewing problems around the world that seem to be coming to a boil? The lack of any apparent focus on anything beyond our borders is frightening. Is Hilary Clinton on the job somewhere, or is she trying to keep track of her husband which could be a full time job in and of itself? Does President Obama have any plans of dealing with foreign policy? So far, it doesn't seem that way.